Our Day of rest - Part Two

Our Day of Rest Part 2

Exodus 16 verses 13 to 31, Nehemiah 13 verses 5 to 22 Genesis Chapter 2 verse 3

7 is a significant number – it is the days of the week. God rested on the seventh day, as an example to us. It is a holy day, blessed to Him. It foreshadows a spiritual rest. We can only find true rest in the Lord Jesus. There will be a true rest in Heaven. This sermon follows on from this and interprets for us what God intends for us. It is expositional. This sermon is concerned with principles.

8. It is part of the Ten Commandments – God’s moral law – see Exodus 20 verse 8

The moral law stems from the holiness of God and does not change. One record of the commandment emphasizes holiness, the other thankfulness for redemption, and both the need for social justice. Israel was an agricultural society.
Moral means the principles that govern our practice. What is right and what is wrong. 6 of the Ten Commandments show us how to worship God, 4 how we live with each other.
They are for all times and all ages, how we should live. They were all given with God’s awesome authority, on tablets of stones, they were permanent. They were put in the Ark, held closely by people.
This commandment is grounded in the Ten Commandments. In Deuteronomy the people were reminded they were once slaves and had no rest. They were now a redeemed people, now they had social justice. The Sabbath was set before the Ten Commandments, given to the people as a day of rest and worship.
The miracle of the manna drove home the need to have one day set aside – see Exodus 16 verses 13 to 31. Nehemiah saw people thinking money was more important than God. He stepped in to deal with this. If we love the Lord we want to follow this pattern. It is given by God, it is moral and given for all time.

9. It was followed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus was the perfect man and he kept the Sabbath. It was his custom, his habit, to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath when his disciples; plucked grain, Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man not the other way round. Jesus was again accused when he healed on the Sabbath. Jesus said people could do good.
Jesus emphasised the need to show love to God by showing love to others. Jesus never broke the 4th commandment or spoke against it. He did speak against the legalism of the Pharisees who burdened people with rules and regulations.

10. As practised by the Jews it has aspects that no longer apply:

a) We are not obliged to practice the Jewish laws regarding religious rituals and ceremonies – see Hebrews 10 verse 1. Some applied to the Old Testament nation alone. There were calendar days, rules and washing etc. These were shadows or prototypes of the good things to come. These are now all passed. They were to demark the life of the nation from those around them,
b) We are not bound by the civil laws which applied to Israel as a theocratic nation – see John 18 verse 36. The Jews had laws regarding land rights and human rights etc. The Jewish Sabbath was all part of this. God had a covenant with these people. The man who collected sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death because he was breaking the Sabbath and it was an act of treason – he was wilfully breaking the Covenant. God no longer has a special nation, his people are all over the World now. Our loyalty is to the nation we live in providing we are not led into sin.
The nation has a duty to uphold the right to free time, set aside to worship God and have time with our families. 87% of people still think Sunday is important and 50% feel Sunday shopping adds to the overall stress. 71% think employers should not be able impose Sunday working. Most people think people need a day to spend together as a family. The principle of a day of rest is important. People cannot be made to worship by passing laws. People are not made holy by passing laws. The law can provide opportunities for people to worship.
c) We are not under the moral law as a means to save us. Under grace, God gives us the Holy Spirit so we love the law and the requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk in the Spirit.

11. It has a perpetual aspect that still applies.

a) Seventh Day Adventists keep Saturday as Sabbath. I disagree.
b) Others say that the Sabbath is not applicable to the Church at all. This idea is common on the Continent and in the USA. It is called New Covenant Theology (for example by Tom Carson). They hold that the whole law is abrogated and the Sabbath is a symbol. Unless the Commandment is reiterated by Christ or an apostle they no longer hold. The second 6 are upheld by Paul. They say the first 4 were not so the Sabbath no longer holds. So, can we have other gods, make idols, misuse God’s name, of course not, any more than we can neglect worship and rest.
They have several passages – including Hebrews 10 and Exodus 31 (that is, the Sabbath is a sign only). Having one day in seven is a witness today to the World. We are different. The New Covenant Theologians say it is a matter of conscience, but it is not part of the ceremonial law. The effects of this are seen in the USA. People go to church on other days and do what they like on Sunday. It has a knock on effect.
c) I hold, with few reservations, the historic Confessions – such as the Baptist Confession of 1687:
(i) Sundays are the best day for gratitude to God
(ii) Sundays ought to build us up for another week of walking with God.
(iii) Sunday is the day we declare God matters to us supremely.
(iv) Sunday is the day we show love to God, to the lost and to the needy such as the lost and lonely. We can witness to our neighbours.
(v) Sunday is a time for the family and serious conversation.
(vi) Sunday is a day in which to glorify and enjoy God.
(vii) Sunday looks ahead to our real and enduring rest.

We have been privileged to be given this day. The day of rest is a foretaste of Heaven.